Category Archives: State of the team

State of the team, Week 8: At New Orleans

Wilson is becoming a legendary tough guy

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at-new-orleans-logoIn 2011, Tarvaris Jackson earned major props in the Seahawks’ locker room by playing through a pectoral injury for most of the season.

Imagine the locker room cred Russell Wilson is putting together this year, playing through a high ankle sprain that should have sidelined him for several weeks, along with a sprained knee that he said was supposed to keep him out at least four weeks and now his own chest injury.

Has anyone ever won Comeback Player of the Year the same season he was injured? Wilson, showing more resilience than a regenerating five-headed hydra, certainly has been the Seahawks’ No. 1 Tough Guy.

Wilson was listed as limited in practice Wednesday and Thursday — the first time that has ever happened. But there should be no concern about him missing the game in New Orleans this Sunday — or about him playing well there.

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State of the team, The roster, Week 7: At Arizona

Hawks will hope Fant can turn into the next Jason Peters

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at-arizona-logoWhile many fans are calling loudly for the Seahawks to buy an expensive cup o’ Joe to jolt their left tackle spot, the simple fact is the Seahawks chose to go decaffeinated on the offensive line, and they are very unlikely to brew a new pot now.

In other words, don’t expect them to mess up their 2017 salary cap and draft by trading for Joe Thomas or Joe Staley.

Instead, expect them to see whether undrafted rookie George Fant can become the next Jason Peters — now. It took Peters, also an undrafted college tight end, three years to become a standout left tackle in the NFL. The Seahawks would settle for half the accomplishment in a third the time.

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State of the team, Week 7: At Arizona

Breaking down the offense’s breakdowns

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at-arizona-logoThe Seahawks’ defense has played stellar football almost all season — and it put together its greatest performance yet Sunday night in Arizona.

It was the third straight year in Glendale that the Seahawks gave up just six points. But, thanks to an almost totally inept offense, they were not able to put together the same 35-6 and 36-6 thrashings of the past two years — instead ending up with the first tie in team history and the lowest-scoring tie since 1972.

The offense has been directly responsible for all one and a half losses this season — with two of the worst performances since Russell Wilson arrived in 2012.

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State of the team, Week 7: At Arizona

McDaniel has been ‘the quiet MVP of our defense’

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at-arizona-logoCoincidence or not? Tony McDaniel comes to Seattle in 2013 and the Hawks win the Super Bowl in his first year and put themselves in position to win in his second year.

Then he gets cut — and the Hawks fail to make their third straight Super Bowl.

OK, so it probably is mostly coincidence. But, then again, maybe he is the Super Bowl lucky charm.

Either way, there is no denying the unsung impact he has had on the Seahawks’ top-ranked defense this season — despite being a last-minute re-addition.

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State of the team, Week 6: Atlanta

Theme of the week: Experience matters

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atlanta-logoPete Carroll spent a lot of his Monday press conference explaining Richard Sherman’s outburst during Seattle’s 26-24 win over Atlanta and breaking down the injury situation, but he offered some good analysis of his 4-1 football team as well.

Among the big points he made: Experience matters, and they missed Kam Chancellor; Kelcie McCray handled the criticism like a pro; Germain Ifedi had a rough game as he makes up for missed time; the pass protection is strong because of Russell Wilson’s development; and the running game just didn’t get the chances vs. Atlanta because the Seahawks had to rally in the fourth quarter.

Carroll said the 36-yard touchdown by Julio Jones that set Sherman off was a result of “just not being on the same page.”

“What was clear to me is that Kam is a big factor,” Carroll said. “We don’t see that stuff; I can’t remember another game when Kam was playing (where that happened). He has such a connection and skills at communicating and all that.

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State of the team, Week 6: Atlanta

Throwback Sherman gives drama queens plenty to gossip about

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atlanta-logo“U mad, bro?”

That was one question no one needed to ask Richard Sherman on Sunday, when he brought back his 2012-13 incarnation with a tantrum that had everything but Tom Brady and Erin Andrews.

Outside of using his fame to make money and social statements and rip the NFL, Sherman had been pretty quiet ever since getting paid in 2014 and then having a baby last year. But he gave us all a little Retro Richard on Sunday, conjuring memories of his attention-seeking days as he put himself in the middle of two controversies in Seattle’s nail-biting win over the feisty Falcons.

His big sideline explosion – a hair-on-fire reminder of his blowup to Andrews after the 2013 NFC title game – and the non-call on his pass interference against Julio Jones at the end will elicit all kinds of chatter this week.

But that’s all for drama queens and grumpy losers. They’ll get over it and “chill,” just like Sherman did.

Continue reading Throwback Sherman gives drama queens plenty to gossip about →

State of the team, Week 6: Atlanta

Neal looked like a Seahawk, which is why Chancellor trained him

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atlanta-logoIn the lead-up to the NFL draft last spring, Florida safety Keanu Neal looked like the kind of player the Seahawks might consider late in the first round.

He had a lot of similarities to Kam Chancellor and seemed like he could be the formerly disgruntled Pro Bowl safety’s heir apparent.

As it turned out, the Seahawks had no shot at Neal — even if they would have considered taking a defensive back so high. Atlanta drafted him instead, at pick 17 — obviously Dan Quinn’s move to find his own Chancellor.

The interesting twist in this is that Chancellor actually reached out to Neal, despite not knowing him, and offered to teach the rookie how to train NFL style.

“He was a bit surprised,” Chancellor said of the text he sent the rookie. “He just was very thankful and grateful that I reached out to him. I said a few things to him, talked to him and asked him if he wanted to come train with me in the offseason. He was just a grateful kid.”

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State of the team, Week 6: Atlanta

After rough first month, O-line gets a few easier matchups

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atlanta-logoOne of the concerning themes of the first month for the Seahawks was the crazy caliber of defensive lines they had to face.

Poor performance by their reconfigured offensive line against the Dolphins, Rams and Jets was the only thing that stood between the Hawks and a 4-0 record.

As expected, the new unit got whipped in the first two games — except for that final winning drive against Miami.

But, the good news is the unit did a better-than-expected job vs. the Jets — allowing Russell Wilson, Jimmy Graham and company to score some points and the Hawks to enter their bye at 3-1.

Now, with the line’s tough start over, the unit has a fairly friendly three-game stretch before it gets difficult again. And the quintet should get better by the week now that Germain Ifedi is back.

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State of the team, Week 5: Bye

Hawks suddenly look like expected Super Bowl contenders

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“I’m really excited about what’s coming up. I think we have a hell of a football team.” – Pete Carroll, to 710 ESPN

After the first two weeks of the season – a 1-1 record and just 15 points scored — it sure looked like this was going to be a repeat of the Seahawks’ slow start in 2015.

But, overcoming injuries and tough matchups for their offensive line, the Hawks have quickly rallied to look much more like the Super Bowl contenders we all envisioned.

While some silly folks thought Russell Wilson should have sat out in New York, he instead overcame his leg injuries to play his best game of the season and lead the offense to a second straight good-looking performance – making it 64 points for Seattle over the past two games despite all kinds of injuries.

“We make a good step forward here,” Pete Carroll said this week. “We played well two weeks ago (in a 37-18 win over the 49ers), then we went on the road in a difficult setting and found our play again. So that kicks us into the bye thing, where we can really take a look at the end of the first quarter of the season and kind of see where we are. We still have a game out there that we wish we would have gotten, but we’re coming around. We’re moving forward and moving in a good direction.”

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State of the team, Week 4: At N.Y. Jets

Graham has answered all of the big questions

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new-york-logoThe Seahawks’ trade for Jimmy Graham in 2015 was met with a lot of raised eyebrows and just about everyone critiqued Graham’s every move in the offense last season.

When he suffered a torn patellar tendon against Pittsburgh in Week 11, the critics of the deal said, “I told you so.”

They said it again as the offense took off without Graham, setting team records behind Russell Wilson and Doug Baldwin.

So, as Graham came back from the injury this year, the big questions were: (1) Would he be able to return to his old self, (2) would he and Wilson find the rhythm they had just discovered when he was hurt and (3) how would his return affect Baldwin?

The wins over the Niners and Jets provided answers to all of those queries.

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